In recent years because of package tampering many methods have been conceived to protect against tampering. The methods include products for sealing the container that will make the container tamper evident. That is, any tampering with the seals on the container will be apparent so that a potential user will be warned. While present methods have achieved some success, a disadvantage is that they are not as secured as they could be.
One such container has a plastic lid with sections that are easily ruptured to remove the lid. Any attempts to force the lid off the container will rupture these sections and provide evidence of tampering. However, this system can be defeated by a slow tedious prying of the lid a small section at a time, until the lid is removed without rupturing the tamper evident seal.
Another method of sealing containers is to provide a heat shrinkable plastic seal around the opening and over the cap. However, this system can be defeated by warming the heat shrinkable sleeve and slowly stretching it until it can be easily removed. It then can be replaced and heat shrinked back over the cover after the product in the package has been tampered with.
Another disadvantage of these products is that the more secure they are the more difficult it is to gain access to the container. For example, the latter container with the heat shrinkable sleeve is so secure that it sometimes requires a knife to cut them away. Users have been injured by stabbing or cutting themselves trying to remove the seal.
Another method of sealing containers is to provide a thin foil covering over the mouth of the container beneath the cap. This too, while effective, has its disadvantages. The sealed foil or film is covered by the lid loosing the visual effect of a secure package. Another difficulty with this type arrangement is that it also is difficult to remove and sometimes requires a cutting instrument to pierce the seal.
Thus it can be seen that while the present methods are effective they have disadvantages in that they can be defeated or if very secure they may be difficult to remove.
It is one purpose of the present invention to provide a tamper resistant lid for containers that is almost impregnable. In this container lid a tear strip is provided that is extremely difficult to remove without rupturing integral thin film links securing the lid on a container.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a container lid that has a tear strip that is very secure but is also very easy to remove by a user. The tear strip is secured to the lid container by a thin section of material providing a flexible hinge that will easily tear.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tamper resistant container lid that is easy to open in that it has a tear strip and a pull tab that allows the strip to be easily stripped from the lid providing access to the container.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tamper resistant container lid that is secure, easy to open, and will provide a good secure closure after the tear strip has been removed.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a unique molding apparatus and method that allows products having indentations at right angles to the plane of the mold to be ejected from the mold.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method of molding that includes a spring loaded auxiliary stripper ring to first deflect a contoured part that goes beyond the plane of the mold before ejecting the part from the mold.